Driving around to pick up his campaign signs — a concession lap of sorts — longtime School Board member Andy Ziegler said he felt relieved.

After 10 years representing District 5 on the Brevard County School Board, Ziegler was unseated in Tuesday's primary, able to collect only 23.25 percent of the vote.

Rep. Thad Altman (left) and school board member Andy Ziegler at a meeting Wednesday to discuss legislative priorities for the next session.

Caroline Glenn/FLORIDA TODAY

"It's a weight off my shoulders," he said. "I get to move on and have fun."

Unproven accusations that Ziegler sexually harassed the school district's human resources director and his involvement in the infamous EDR software purchase, without a doubt, hurt his campaign for re-election.

But despite the controversies Ziegler has found himself embroiled in over the years, it was surprising to some, and even to Ziegler, to see him in third place on the ballot leaderboard. Going into Tuesday's elections, Ziegler said he was feeling confident.

"I think everybody was very surprised by the results, not just in my race," Ziegler said after the results had been finalized. "I am surprised because, typically with my accomplishments and good name recognition, I should have fared better, but obviously the electorate has a different mindset."

Taking his place on the dais and representing South Brevard will be either Katye Campbell or Kelly Damerow, political newcomers who received 36.99 percent and 28.89 percent of the vote and advanced to the general election in November.

School board members Tina Descovich and Andy Ziegler at a workshop Tuesday to discuss possible school rezoning. The possibility of moving kids from the A-rated Melbourne High to the C-rated Palm Bay High, schools in Ziegler and Descovich's districts respectively, has stirred anger in West Melbourne.

Caroline Glenn/FLORIDA TODAY

Ziegler's missteps could be to blame

In Ziegler's opinion, "the nature of the electorate" is the reason for his loss. Across the county's School Board races, "women at the top of the ballot" did very well, he said.

In District 1, incumbent Misty Belford beat David Meader; in District 2, Cheryl McDougall led over Charles Parker and Frank Sullivan; and in Ziegler's district, Campell and Damerow trounced Ziegler and Dean Paterakis.

Throughout his campaign, Ziegler touted his experience on the School Board, but Chairman of the Brevard Republican Executive Committee Rick Lacey said an anti-incumbent voting pattern was apparent across Florida.

"You saw a lot of well-known Republicans like Trudie Infantini and Chuck Nelson and Tres Holton and Andy Ziegler losing races when they were more-experienced candidates," Lacey said.

However, a series of high-profile mishaps, most recently accusations that Ziegler sexually harassed the district's human resources director, are likely to blame.

Last year, HR Director Carol Tolx alleged that Ziegler showed up at her house late at night to invite her to a party, asked her to give him a ride in her car, touched the small of her back on several occasions and made inappropriate comments that made her uncomfortable in front of other employees. An investigation by a private law firm ultimately cleared Ziegler of any wrongdoing, but some residents and FLORIDA TODAY's editorial board called on him to resign.

Just a few weeks before the primary, FLORIDA TODAY learned a second investigation into Ziegler was underway after the same woman accused him of retaliating against her for reporting him. The investigation is ongoing.

Ziegler has denied Tolx's accusations, and at one point said he suspected the timing of the second investigation was politically motivated to thwart his re-election campaign.

The purchase occurred in 2013, but in the last few years additional information has come out suggesting that district leaders and school board members at the time rushed the purchase, didn't research it and in the end, wasted $5.9 million on a product they never fully received. The purchase severely hurt public trust in the school board.

Ziegler has since said he was tricked by the district's senior staff into buying the software and that he was the only board member who questioned the purchase. Cadiz said Ziegler's attempts to mislead voters and spin the situation proved unsuccessful.

"He put himself out there as the technology guy, the person that understands the purchase, understands the technology, what's behind it," said Cadiz. "Even after the decision was made to purchase the software, there were folks like us out there warning them this was a really, really bad idea. He kept insisting that the decision they made was the right one."

Ziegler was the only remaining board member from the purchase.

"I think it's good that they're all gone," said Cadiz.

Teacher pay

Another blow to Ziegler's campaign was his failure to secure an endorsement from the local teachers union. In District 5, the Brevard Federation of Teachers picked Damerow.

Union President Anthony Colucci said Ziegler's inability to deliver on competitive salaries for the county's teachers was behind their decision to withhold their endorsement.

"We decided not to endorse Andy because the last two years our salary increases have been unacceptable, and as an incumbent, he was part of those decisions," Colucci said, explaining the union also chose not to endorse District 1 incumbent Belford. "We needed someone strong on salary who wanted to prioritize teacher pay and not make it an afterthought."

Teachers received no raises during Ziegler's first term from 2008 from 2010. In 2011 they recived 2.7 percent raises, another freeze in 2012, 4.5 percent in 2013, 2.1 percent in 2014, 5.1 percent in 2015, 1.3 percent in 2016 and 1.5 percent in 2017.

"Two years ago, when we got the $581 raise, we really talked to them a lot about prioritizing teacher pay and we thought we had an understanding. ... And last year, the initial offer they came out with was $518 — a 1 percent raise," said Colucci.

West Melbourne redistricting

John Dittmore, a West Melbourne City Council member and the Hammock Lakes homeowners association president, said a few neighborhoods in Ziegler's district withheld their support because of disagreements over a proposed rezoning project.

The proposal, which came about in January, would have transferred about 400 kids from Melbourne High School, an A-rated school, to Palm Bay High School, a C-rated school, angering families. At town halls to discuss the issue, parents scolded the school board and district officials for considering a change that could hurt their property values and their children's academics.

The proposal was eventually tabled, but Dittmore said the damage was done.

"Andy did eventually work with us on the problem to get it resolved," he said, but the initial mishandling is what stuck in people's minds.

This week on Eye on Brevard, host Isadora Rangel talks with Brevard Schools superintendent Mark Mullins about his new role and his plans moving forward.

Florida Today

Longtime board member

Ziegler, a part time community relations manager at Artemis IT in Melbourne, was first elected to the School Board in 2008, replacing Janice Kershaw, after serving on the district's audit committee.

A 1983 graduate of Florida Institute of Technology, he's worked under four superintendents and helped hire three of them.

Ziegler joined the board in the midst of multimillion-dollar budget cuts, as positions were being eliminated and jobs being frozen — a result of the recession.

Coinciding with the closure of NASA's shuttle program in 2011, the cuts continued. Everything from athletic programs, music classes, school resource officers, gifted programs, after school care and bus routes were on the chopping block.

"The first six years were very painful," Ziegler recalled. "It was almost like we couldn’t do anything good because we had to cut so much out of our budget. That’s something I would not want to experience ever again."

09/04/2009--Photo by Craig Bailey/Florida Today--Members of the late Tom McIntyre's family look on as school board member Andy Ziegler addresses the crowd during Friday's dedication of Tom McIntyre Stadium.

Craig Bailey, Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY

Despite years of cutbacks, Ziegler managed to win re-election in 2010 and again in 2014, forming political foes along the way.

In 2014, Ziegler and opponent Denise Coyle involved police in a dispute over sign-stealing. And in 2016, Ziegler and Dean Paterkis made national headlines when Ziegler had Paterakis physically carried out of the school board room for what he deemed inappropriate language during public comment.

Among his accomplishments, Ziegler said he is most proud of the opening of three free employee health clinics. Spread out around the county, the clinics are expected to save the district millions in insurance costs while bringing in revenue through pharmaceutical services.

He also worked with Sen. Thad Altman to permanently add "federally connected funds" to the state's school budget, which brings in about $2.5 million locally. The money benefits school districts with large parcels of government-owned land that can't be taxed by the district, including Brevard which is home to Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Patrick Air Force Base and a Navy submarine installation at the Port.

School Board member Andy Ziegler, who pushed for on-site employee clinics for six years, gets a checkup at the Viera location on opening day Wednesday.

Caroline Glenn, FLORIDA TODAY

In 2014, he helped pass the half-cent sales surtax which is being used to pay for building repairs, technology purchases and security upgrades at schools across Brevard.

Ziegler said he's seen vocational programs expand in the district, one of his early goals during the 2008 election, including the addition of construction, aeronautical and automotive programs.

Ziegler has not decided if he will endorse a candidate for District 5, but said he will continue to follow local school issues. He'll continue his work with the Palm Bay Rotary; Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce; AMI Kids, a nonprofit serving young boys who have been referred through the juvenile system; and Tied Together, a local group that teaches boys how to tie ties and shake hands.

District 5 results

Katye Campbell: 7,957 votes, 36.99%

Kelly Damerow: 6,216 votes, 28.89%

Dean Paterakis: 2,340 votes, 10.88%

Andy Ziegler: 5,001 votes, 23.25%

Total votes: 21,514

Caroline Glenn is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Glenn at 321-576-5933 or caglenn@floridatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter @bycarolineglenn and like Education at Florida Today on Facebook.